Having been in place for five years, antidumping and countervailing duty on China-mad PV power products of the European Union is expected to expire on Sept. 4, as scheduled, giving a great relief to Chinese PV power firms.

Under the antidumping and countervailing duty scheme, implemented in 2013, China-made PV power products are still entitled to free tariff for export to the EU, should their prices exceed the minimum level but those priced above the level are subject to steep 64.9% tariff, much higher than 30% tariff on Chinese products exceeding the 2.5 GW quota announced by the U.S. in early 2018.

The expiration of the penalizing duty will relieve the concern of China suppliers, as some European firms still proposed expiry review in June, in an attempt to extend the duty again, following a 18-month extension made by the EU in March 2017, before the expiration of the original three-year term for the duty, which became effective on June 5, 2013.

Reuters reported that the European Commission has rejected the request for another extension, a decision which has been backed by most EU member countries.

The decision is meant to cut the cost of importers and installation cost for users, plus avoidance of a trade war, which almost erupted in 2013.

It is at odds with the stance of the EU Prosun, advocate for the antidumping and countervailing duty back in 2012, which urged the renewed extension of the duty, arguing that indigenous firms would succumb to the strong price competitiveness of China-made products, adding that some European firms are considering to appeal to the European Court of Justice.

In June 2018, the Chinese government put forth the 531 policy, putting a damper on PV power projects and slashing subsidies, as a result of which China would release 30 GW PV power products. With the U.S. starting to impose steep tariff on China-made products in early 2018, a move likely to be followed by India, the EU, with 7 GW market capacity, becomes the remaining major outlet for Chinese products.

SolarPower Europe, however, is happy to see the lifting of the duty. James Watnso, chief executive of SolarPower Europe, expressed in early 2018 that the EU must remove the barrier for PV power development.

According to the study of DG Justice and Consumers, PV power installation capacity in the EU could expand by 20-30%, while EY forecasts that the removal of the trade barrier could create 45,500 job openings in 2019.

(First photo courtesy of Pixabay, written by Daisy Chuang)